How to get more Google reviews without breaking the rules

Updated September 2026 · About 950 words

Why reviews matter twice

Reviews affect where you rank in the map pack: count, average rating, how recent they are, whether they mention your services, and whether you reply. And they decide whether someone who sees you calls you or the business above you. A business with 40 recent reviews at 4.8 will beat one with 200 stale reviews at 4.2 on both counts.

The rules, briefly

Google's rules and UK consumer law say the same thing: reviews must be genuine, from real customers, not paid for, not written by you or your staff, and you can't offer anything in exchange for them. Since 2024 the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act makes fake or incentivised reviews an offence for the business, not just the reviewer. So the question is how to make it easy for real customers to leave real reviews.

Step 1: get your review link

In your Google Business Profile, look for "Ask for reviews" (or "Get more reviews"). Google gives you a short link that opens the review box directly. Turn it into a QR code (any free generator will do) and save both.

Step 2: choose the moment

The best time to ask is the moment the customer is happiest, which is almost always the moment the job is finished and they're pleased with it, not three days later by email. Trades: as you hand over the invoice. Clinics: at reception after the appointment. Restaurants: on the bill or a card with it. Online businesses: in the delivery confirmation. Build it into that moment as a habit, not a campaign.

Step 3: make it a two-tap job

People don't leave reviews because it's a faff. The QR code on the invoice, van, counter card or business card takes them straight to the review box. A text message with the link works even better for trades: "Thanks for choosing us today, Sarah. If you've got 30 seconds, a Google review really helps a small business: [link]". Keep it short, personal and unpushy.

Step 4: ask everyone, the same way

Asking only the customers you think are happy is called review gating and Google specifically prohibits it. Ask everyone. The ones who weren't happy usually tell you rather than write it in public, and that's useful too.

Step 5: reply to every review

Replies show Google the profile is active and show customers you care. Keep it to two or three sentences, thank them, mention the service and the area if it's natural ("Glad the boiler's sorted before winter, thanks for having us out to Padiham"). That last bit is a small local ranking signal, and it reads naturally when it's true.

Handling a bad review

Don't argue in public. Reply once, calmly: acknowledge it, say what you've done or will do, and offer to sort it out by phone. Prospective customers read your reply more carefully than the review. If the review breaks Google's rules (it's from someone who was never a customer, it's abusive, it's from a competitor) report it through the profile and ask us to help if it's not removed; many are, given the right evidence.

What not to do

• Don't buy reviews, ever. The sellers recycle accounts and Google removes the reviews in batches, often taking real ones with them.
• Don't offer discounts, prize draws or freebies for reviews.
• Don't set up a review kiosk on your premises; Google flags reviews from your own location.
• Don't ask staff or family. Google links accounts to the business and treats it as fraud.
• Don't leave bad reviews for competitors. It's traceable and increasingly litigated.

Realistic numbers

A business with a working process typically converts 10–20% of asks into reviews. A tradesperson doing ten jobs a week should see one or two reviews a week; a clinic seeing fifty patients a week, five or so. Twenty new reviews in three months changes your position in most towns.

Show them off

Put your Google rating on your website with a review widget, on your quotes and on your van. Reviews you've earned should work for you everywhere, not just on Google.